This scholarship, sponsored by Mann Lake Ltd. and created and administered by the EAS Master Beekeepers, was established to encourage a worthy young individual to pursue an interest in honey bees and beekeeping. The Scholarship will provide financial assistance for the selected candidate to attend an annual EAS conference. In addition to the waiver of registration fees by EAS for the short course and the main conference, the Scholarship will provide up to $1,000 to the successful candidate to offset other conference expenses.

Manner of Award of the Scholarship

EAS will waive the scholarship recipient's registration fees for both the short course and the main conference.

Conference expenses such as standard on-site lodging and meals (including special social events, BBQs, and Friday night banquet, etc.) will be paid from the scholarship fund on behalf of the successful candidate.

The scholarship will provide a budget for travel expenses up to $500, which may include airfare or mileage reimbursement. Travel expenses below $500 will be reimbursed at actual expense incurred.

Travel expenses to and from the conference will be paid to the candidate following submission of receipts for travel such as airline vouchers, or mileage. Travel expenses will not be paid in advance, but will be reimbursed as soon as possible following receipt of documentation.

Scholarship Eligibility

The candidate may be any young person between the ages of 18 and 25 who is a full-time student, or is not a full-time student but is currently employed by a commercial or sideliner beekeeper and plans to pursue a career in apiculture. If the candidate is a veteran of any branch of the U. S. armed forces, the age limit is 30.

The candidate must have been keeping bees for a minimum of one year by the time the conference for which the scholarship is requested begins.

The candidate may have a beekeeping mentor, who can be a parent or other experienced adult, but must be primarily responsible for the care of his or her bees.

The candidate must have participated in a local short course in beekeeping.

Qualified candidates must complete an application form providing their basic contact information, brief beekeeping experience and education, and other relevant data.

Candidates must provide letters of recommendation from at least two experienced beekeepers, preferably a mentor and another beekeeping individual familiar with the candidate’s experience and qualifications. If possible, this individual should be a Master Beekeeper, state apiarist, educator or research/extension specialist in the home state of the candidate. These letters of recommendation should be sent directly by the person providing the recommendation to the Master Beekeeper Scholarship Committee.

Candidates must write an essay of no less than two, and no more than three, double-spaced typewritten pages describing their reasons for wanting to attend the EAS conference. The essay should also outline the candidate’s ambitions with respect to beekeeping, including both short and long-term plans.

Applications must be received by the Chairperson of the Master Beekeeper Scholarship Committee by May 31 of the year in which the applicant plans to attend the EAS conference.

Award Criteria

Preference will be given to candidates who, in the judgment of the Scholarship Committee, are serious in their commitment to apiculture. For example, a serious candidate may be planning to pursue a career as a commercial beekeeper, an entomologist, a researcher in apiculture, a queen breeder, or similar profession. A dedicated hobbyist may also win the scholarship, but preference will be given to candidates planning to pursue a career in apiculture.

The candidate must be an EAS member.

The candidate must be of good character, responsible, hard-working and honest. It is expected that, while attending the conference, the successful candidate will behave in a responsible and respectful manner.

Following the conference, the scholarship recipient will prepare an article for the EAS Journal, of at least one column in length, or as indicated by the Journal Editor, describing his or her experiences at the EAS conference. The article should include photographs and discuss how attending EAS has influenced the recipient’s beekeeping knowledge and post-conference experiences. The article should be submitted no later than six months following the end of the conference.